The Travel Thread

[ousdahl]

Fish calls outside spoon!

[PhDhawk]

Despite my encouragements to just go somewhere for breakfast and keep the receipt, the chick from work I’m traveling with brought bagel sandwiches, wtf.

My first work trip was when I was in intern at a large bank, between junior and senior years of college. The trip was to...somewhere in Iowa? Cedar Falls or Waterloo, something in there?

Anyway - my "boss" checked us into the hotel, and handed me my key. We proceeded to the elevator and up to whatever floor was needed. I followed him out of the elevator, and into the room he walked into.

He turned around, quite confused at what the hell I was doing.*

I, being a novice business traveler (and a college student at the time, unfamiliar with the luxury of having, you know, your own room), had just assumed we had to share a room.

* Yes,I know there's some easy jokes to be made on these facts. Have at it.

I had an experience that was basically the opposite of this.

I went to a Cold Spring Harbor meeting which is something you have to apply to and get approval to attend based on the merit of the research you want to present. There are limited spaces, so getting in is supposed to be (somewhat) a big deal. So, I get accepted, reserve a room through the conference, book my flight and go to the meeting.

I get there, find out I'm in a hotel off-site, have to take a shuttle there and back every day, and then when I get to the hotel, I find out I have a roommate...some guy I've never met before in my life, but now as an adult I'm sharing a 2 queen bed hotel room with. So instead of being at some prestigious meeting, I was basically at adult summer camp for a week.

My wife loves to make fun of me for it still.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I'm learning that the academic travel budget often leads to having to share rooms--hopefully with people you know.

[PhDhawk]

I'm learning that the academic travel budget often leads to having to share rooms--hopefully with people you know.

I've shared rooms with people I know at other conferences, usually just to save money, but it's always someone I'd consider a friend. A lot of times summer meetings are at places like a ski resort, so sometimes you have your own bedroom and often your own bathroom in a larger shared suite or something.

This was the only time I traveled alone and had to share a room with a stranger. I've been to meetings where that was an option (one I never take), to save money, but this was the only time I'd had it forced upon me.

[PhDhawk]

But...there are a whole host of things in academia that my professional wife likes to make fun of me for.

Sharing hotel rooms is one.

Poster presentations is another one. She likes to make fun of the fact that you often present your work in a manner similar to a middle school science fair.

We do literature review sessions in groups to keep up with the latest research, and it gets referred to as "journal club" and I get shit about that too.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Poster presentations is another one. She likes to make fun of the fact that you often present your work in a manner similar to a middle school science fair.

This made me chuckle.

The awkwardness just looks too much for me at those things.

[Shirley]

Despite my encouragements to just go somewhere for breakfast and keep the receipt, the chick from work I’m traveling with brought bagel sandwiches, wtf.

My first work trip was when I was in intern at a large bank, between junior and senior years of college. The trip was to...somewhere in Iowa? Cedar Falls or Waterloo, something in there?

Anyway - my "boss" checked us into the hotel, and handed me my key. We proceeded to the elevator and up to whatever floor was needed. I followed him out of the elevator, and into the room he walked into.

He turned around, quite confused at what the hell I was doing.*

I, being a novice business traveler (and a college student at the time, unfamiliar with the luxury of having, you know, your own room), had just assumed we had to share a room.

* Yes,I know there's some easy jokes to be made on these facts. Have at it.

That's a great story.















Unlike those boring, laborious stories ousdahl is always subjecting us to, about how he nailed his co-workers, &/or roommates.

[PhDhawk]

Poster presentations is another one. She likes to make fun of the fact that you often present your work in a manner similar to a middle school science fair.

This made me chuckle.

The awkwardness just looks too much for me at those things.

They're the worst.

I could fill a novel on awkward interactions at posters. Low talkers, people who won't leave your poster, people who won't let you leave their poster, dumb people. While in grad school, I had a professor from Michigan state talk to me while he was eating a chocolate muffin like a messy child, we shook hands when he introduced himself to me, while I was pointing at something on my poster I noticed that my hand had a large gob of chocolaty spit all over it that he got on me from shaking hands.

But the worst is standing there waiting for someone to come talk to you, and then they look at the title of your poster and walk by.

I try to talk to colleagues about how much I hate it and they don't seem to get it.

[jhawks99]

The first night of my first business trip. In a suburb of NYC on Long Island. Two weeks training for a phone system. This was mid-90s, I did not have a cell phone.

Picked up the rental car, got lost. I got on 495 instead of LIE and drove far too long. Got into the hotel late. My wife had called them several times. Finally got there and checked in. Called her from the room and said I was going to hit the bar and get something to eat. She's freaking out cuz I'm out alone at night in New York, she's thinking Death Wish or Warriors or something when I was actually in the burbs. The two guys I'm talking to get in a fist fight and I get a couple of beers to go. Back in the room, I called Mrs 99 and tell her to quit worrying, everything is OK. Just then the room fills with thick black smoke and I tell here the place is on fire, I gotta go, bye.

Stood outside watching absolute chaos, fire trucks, ambulances (no one was hurt) TV trucks. Some guy starts talking to me and says that the US Open is in town and we better get out of there and find a hotel quick or they're gonna load everyone up on busses and we'd need to share rooms. I was quite a bit bigger than the dude so I get in the car with him and we find another hotel. As soon as we're done checking in, sure enough the bus pulls up from the original hotel. At this point it's about 3am Monday morning so I don't call Mrs 99.

I get a call about 7am and it's the company that I'm training at. They tell me to pack my bags and go because the company I work with is not an authorized dealer. We're an end user. So I call my office and they hammer it out, I'm allowed to attend and take the final exam, but I can't be certified until I work for an authorized dealer. I get to class about two hours late and have a new nick name. Sparky.

[Shirley]

I'm learning that the academic travel budget often leads to having to share rooms--hopefully with people you know.

For years, once a year, a lawyer I once slept with attends a huge conference that's designed to bring the attendees up to date on any changes in the laws impacting shopping centers since the last conference. It's always in a nice place with fine accommodations that's ripe for various activities, so I often tag along. Employees of Walmart at the conference are required to share rooms.

I guess the Waltons didn't get to be the richest family in the world by being overly generous to their employees.

[Deleted User 89]

Fish calls outside spoon!

it's "big spoon"

sheesh...

[Deleted User 89]

But...there are a whole host of things in academia that my professional wife likes to make fun of me for.

Sharing hotel rooms is one.

Poster presentations is another one. She likes to make fun of the fact that you often present your work in a manner similar to a middle school science fair.

fuck posters

did it once...never again. if i'm going to the work to put a poster together, i'm giving an oral presentation

[jfish26]

That's a great story.

The best work travel story I have:

New Orleans, 2010-ish

Company retreat.

(a) Introducing Leo

My colleague (we'll call him Leo for the duration of this post) is both one of my favorite people in the world, and also...incredibly socially awkward and lacking any sort of street smarts. The type to wear slacks on jeans days at work, you know? Leo also once interviewed at a company in a tall office building, and was late to the interview (and quite sweaty!) because he didn't know how elevator banks worked and had to hike the stairs from floor 12 to about floor 30. (He did not get that job.)

It was fitting that it was Leo, and not any of the rest of us, who entered his room upon arrival only to find the hotel had also issued that room to someone else, who was changing in what was very much her room when Leo duly swiped his keycard and (quote appropriately, and in following the rules (as Leo is wont to do)) barged right in.

Of course, the replacement room Leo was given was...on a floor being renovated, and devoid of furniture. Leo slept there the first night, anyway.

(b) The Tour Guide

We went on a swamp boat tour thing, where the Cajun dude spits and hacks his way through a tour, with the requisite canned humor (in drawing the gators to the surface by throwing a giant Jet Puffed, he said well of course that's the practice because the food is a "marsh-mallow").

Anyway - the tour was (naturally) run out of a trailer. We get back from the tour, and I spy some sort of supercar (the $100k+ type) behind the trailer. I ask the guy what gives, does giving swamp boat tours to jerks like me really throw off that kind of cash?

The guy drops the entire Cajun facade and, speaking in clear prep-school English, relates that his family owns some land that Shell leases helipads on, for ferrying people and supplies to/from Shell's derricks in the gulf. So, this swamp boat tour thing: it's how my man passes the time.

That guy is, to this day, my hero.

(c) To Each His Own

Back to Leo. Our first night on the town, we're romping through the French Quarter, engaging in the usual activities. At some point, a lady comes out from a strip club, trying to entice us in (to the strip club, at least as the first stop). Everyone in the group is game, except for Leo.

I ask Leo what's the matter. Would his wife care? ("No.") Does he have some moral and/or religious objection? ("No.")

Ok, what gives then?

"[Fish], I don't go to strip clubs for the same reason I don't wear jeans."

[Fish blinks repeatedly.]

"I don't like to waste boners."

Like I said, Leo fucking rules.

[ousdahl]

Good stories y’all.

Also, landed!

Now who else wants a Moose Drool?

[TDub]

Theres a ghost town outside of Missoula that's pretty dang cool. Not that you'll have time. But still cool. I almost worked there one summer as a curator of sorts. Protect the property, etc but decided I couldnt afford to give up my career for a summer job chasing pennies in the mountains. Sigh.

[ousdahl]

So now we’re day drinking!

Gossip starting up. Homegirl was looking for a roomie a while back and, against my advice, ended up rooming with one of the chicks I roomed with at that slum apartment.

Now she’s all whining about delinquent roommate stuff, and I’m sitting here forcing myself to sip a beer every time
I otherwise wanna say told-you-so.

[zsn]

I had an experience that was basically the opposite of this.

I went to a Cold Spring Harbor meeting which is something you have to apply to and get approval to attend based on the merit of the research you want to present. There are limited spaces, so getting in is supposed to be (somewhat) a big deal. So, I get accepted, reserve a room through the conference, book my flight and go to the meeting.

I get there, find out I'm in a hotel off-site, have to take a shuttle there and back every day, and then when I get to the hotel, I find out I have a roommate...some guy I've never met before in my life, but now as an adult I'm sharing a 2 queen bed hotel room with. So instead of being at some prestigious meeting, I was basically at adult summer camp for a week.

My wife loves to make fun of me for it still.

I voluntarily attend a Gordon Research Conference every summer, which is essentially what you describe above. They are usually at a New England private college/school and involves sleeping in dorm suites (own room though), shared bathroom among about 2-3 people and cafeteria dining. This is where you get to literally rub elbows and drink with Nobel laureates. Attire is shorts-and-t-shirt. My boss used to call it Science Camp for the Middle-aged

[PhDhawk]

I had an experience that was basically the opposite of this.

I went to a Cold Spring Harbor meeting which is something you have to apply to and get approval to attend based on the merit of the research you want to present. There are limited spaces, so getting in is supposed to be (somewhat) a big deal. So, I get accepted, reserve a room through the conference, book my flight and go to the meeting.

I get there, find out I'm in a hotel off-site, have to take a shuttle there and back every day, and then when I get to the hotel, I find out I have a roommate...some guy I've never met before in my life, but now as an adult I'm sharing a 2 queen bed hotel room with. So instead of being at some prestigious meeting, I was basically at adult summer camp for a week.

My wife loves to make fun of me for it still.

I voluntarily attend a Gordon Research Conference every summer, which is essentially what you describe above. They are usually at a New England private college/school and involves sleeping in dorm suites (own room though), shared bathroom among about 2-3 people and cafeteria dining. This is where you get to literally rub elbows and drink with Nobel laureates. Attire is shorts-and-t-shirt. My boss used to call it Science Camp for the Middle-aged

I went to a Gordon Conference last summer, it was at a resort in NH though, not on a campus. I got my own room, because the only two people I knew personally who were there were both female, and I'm not daring enough to do any more bunking with total strangers. Seeing these 60 year old science bigwigs hanging out getting drunk until 2 am in the hotel room of some 25 year old graduate students is very surreal. I was going to go to one this year that was at Salve Regina University in RI, but the timing didn't work out.

[ChalkRocker]

The first night of my first business trip. In a suburb of NYC on Long Island. Two weeks training for a phone system. This was mid-90s, I did not have a cell phone.

Picked up the rental car, got lost. I got on 495 instead of LIE and drove far too long. Got into the hotel late. My wife had called them several times. Finally got there and checked in. Called her from the room and said I was going to hit the bar and get something to eat. She's freaking out cuz I'm out alone at night in New York, she's thinking Death Wish or Warriors or something when I was actually in the burbs. The two guys I'm talking to get in a fist fight and I get a couple of beers to go. Back in the room, I called Mrs 99 and tell her to quit worrying, everything is OK. Just then the room fills with thick black smoke and I tell here the place is on fire, I gotta go, bye.

Stood outside watching absolute chaos, fire trucks, ambulances (no one was hurt) TV trucks. Some guy starts talking to me and says that the US Open is in town and we better get out of there and find a hotel quick or they're gonna load everyone up on busses and we'd need to share rooms. I was quite a bit bigger than the dude so I get in the car with him and we find another hotel. As soon as we're done checking in, sure enough the bus pulls up from the original hotel. At this point it's about 3am Monday morning so I don't call Mrs 99.

I get a call about 7am and it's the company that I'm training at. They tell me to pack my bags and go because the company I work with is not an authorized dealer. We're an end user. So I call my office and they hammer it out, I'm allowed to attend and take the final exam, but I can't be certified until I work for an authorized dealer. I get to class about two hours late and have a new nick name. Sparky.

All the stories were fun.

This wins. imo

[ousdahl]

Was gonna ask this in the professionalism thread, buuut...

so apparently our GM is at this event now too. He made no mention that he was also coming, made no plans to rendezvous, didn’t even bother to exchange numbers to get in touch while we’re both here.

That’s like, kinda weird, right?